Seattle to coast to columbia River Gorge
 

Here is my itenarary. It will just be my husband and I and we wont be able to go on any long hikes but hopefully some 1 miles ones or less to see waterfalls and other scenic attractions.
July 20th fly into Seattle stay in Renton/Bellevue area(evening flight)
July 21st Seattle: Space Needle, Ballard Locks, Ferry Ride(other suggestions welcome)
July 22nd leave Renton go to MT Rainier NP by the North entrance stay at Kelso, WA for night
Jyly 23rd Leave Kelso to Astoria and down coast stay in Lincoln City
July 24th Lincoln City to Florence stay in Florence
July 25th Maybe take scenic trip from Florence back to Cascade locks tour Columbia River Gorge stay in Cascade Locks
July 26 Tour Columbia River Gorge in morning, maybe fit Mt St Helens in on way back to Federal Way to stay the night if we have time
July 27th fly out of Seatac at 10:20

I would love suggestions on the must see's in these areas and great restaurants in the towns we are staying in.
Thanks

Is there a reason you want to stay in Lincoln City and Florence? I would choose Yachats which is in between and spend 2 nights there instead.

My favorite beach in the area is Heceta Head. Its a beautiful little cove. There is a trail up to the lighthouse keepers house ( which is a B&B and a great place to stay). The trail continues up to the lighthouse which has been under repair so not sure if open to the public yet. Its a great spot for a picnic or just a walk on the beach or the trail up to the lighthouse.

The places I always suggest staying at in Yachats are the Adobe Motel, the Fireside or the Overleaf- the Overleaf being the most expensive. The Adobe has an ocean from dining room which is nice. These 3 motels are close to each other and you can easily walk between them.

In Florence, I like to eat at the Traveler's Cove on a nice day- mostly because they have a deck overlooking the river. For a cup of coffee/ espresso and a dessert check out the Coffee Roaster on Main St in Florence- they also have an outside deck.

For more high end dining in Florence is the Waterfront Depot- you may need a reservation for dinner.

I think the coast between Lincoln City and Florence is one of the prettiest areas on the coast -
so be prepared to make lots of stops.

I don't mind a <I>fast-moving</I> itinerary myself, but yours is even too fast for my tastes.

Of course I don't know if you've ever been to the area before, and that might change my feelings.

(scratching head) Kelso: lets see, there's the Burger King, the Shari's Restaurant (Do they still feature "Corn Puppies" for kids?), the Taco Bell, the AM/PM mini-mart, and even a Motel 6.

I sorta feel that you should define the <I><b>main purpose</b></I> of your trip and narrow it down to 3 or 4 targets, instead of this high-intensity motion.

At any rate, you could easily add <I>"Pike Place Market"</I> to your Seattle itinerary - unless you've been before. While I love to endorse the ferry ride, I hesitate to do so for someone with <b>so much</b> packed into a full schedule. Any chance you could hit the ground running and, on that evening of arrival, go into central Seattle and see the Space Needle then??

<b>Sunset on July 20 is "8:58pm"</b> (and <I>by then the sun may actually be out</I> ). Depending upon the time of your arrival, you could see the Needle in daylight and in darkness on the same <b>evening</b> trip.

IF you learn the <I><b>"Link Light Rail"</b></I> you might even ponder leaving your car at a rail stop due west of Renton (Tukwila Station - not far from the airport) and take the Rail into central Seattle on that first evening, and then the <I>Mono</I><b>rail</b> from central Seattle to the Space Needle.

Again, it all depends on the timing of your arrival.

The <b>one day in Seattle just isn't doing the place justice</b>, and that goes double if you're staying in Renton.

I'm OK with your intentions <I>if you've been here before, and if you're merely checking new things off the list</I>.

In the Columbia River Gorge we prefer to stay in Hood River at the Best Western with a balcony on the river (and away from the train that passes through Cascade Locks).

In Florence we like to stay at the Best Western Pier Point in a room with a balcony view of Old Town--across the water. In Old Town we like to eat at Restobar, which is more Restaurant than bar (make a reservation).

HTtY

NorthwestMale, I can tell that you have never driven to the Tukwila P&R only to circle around endlessly looking for an open parking space. We gave up on that some time ago....

Yeah, I'm sure there will be a tailgate party clogging every available space on Saturday evening, July 20.

Why does the train even bother to stop there if all of the parking stalls are as constantly full as you suggest?

The mighty Mariners, then surely 25 games back, will be <I>in Houston</I> on that night too.

The Sounders, who are scheduled for a game at <b>one p.m.</b> that afternoon, could by themselves be expected to yield constantly-emptying parking spots in Tukwila by <b>"evening"</b>.

I know to have more days would be idea but I have narrowed it down to just 4 places. We are doing Seattle one full day, Mt Rainier a full day,two days on the coast and 1 day(or 2 1/2 days) at Columbia River Gorge. We are staying at Coho Ocean Front in Lincoln City and Driftwood Shores Resort in Florence. When you live in Iowa you are use to driving 12 hours just to see something scenic so I don't think the car time will be bad and we are early riser and don't want any night life just a good supper at a nice place. We will probably not get out to this area again due to our usual vacations are to Canada fishing and I still have Main and Alaska as bucket list vacation spots. Since it sounds like there is not much in Kelso would it be better to go on to Astoria after Mt Rainier instead of stopping at Kelso for the night? Thanks for all the great advice and info.

<I>Since it sounds like there is not much in Kelso would it be better to go on to Astoria after Mt Rainier instead of stopping at Kelso for the night?</I>

Yes it would be better to go on to Astoria or Portland or someplace on the coast (such as Cannon Beach, Seaside, or Manzanita) where you can enjoy the ocean.

Another option is to visit the Columbia River Gorge before going to the coast. If you opt for that, drive to Hood River on WA 14 from Vancouver to Bingen, where there is a bridge to Hood River--a great place to spend a night. WA 14 is a scenic two-lane road that affords great views of the river and Mt. Hood.

HTtY